ShowSqueeze

Shrink File Sizes with ShowSqueeze

ShowSqueeze, SnapStream's transcoding feature, quickly converts native MPEG-2 recordings to H.264 or WMV. Because of better compression, you can store more TV without having to buy extra storage. To shorten the two-step process of record-then-transcode, ShowSqueeze Live lets you initiate transcodes in real-time, in sync with a recording. When the recording's done, it's ready to go in the converted format. For that extra level of customization and control, set up Workflows to automate transcodes and other manual tasks.

Why convert to WMV or H.264?

SnapStream's ShowSqueeze feature can transcode to H.264 (also known as AVC), QuickTime (H.264 + AAC), WMV 7 and WMV 9 (Windows Media Video). These compressed formats are the gold standard when it comes to Internet streaming because they offer similar video quality at smaller sizes. In fact, H.264 delivers the same quality at half the bit-rate and size of MPEG-2. H.264 is king for the iPhone and iPad, and anything high defintion, such as Blu-ray discs. H.264 is universally playable in QuickTime, which is freely available for both Mac and Windows. WMV 9 naturally plays in Windows Media Player, which is also freely available for Windows or Mac.

With Workflows, you make the rules

Workflows allow you to set up recurring actions for specific types of recordings. Workflows provide a high level of granularity and customization to help automate administrative and user-level tasks. For example:

Transcode everything from the channel NBC to H.264

Expire all NEWS programs after 90 days

Create low-res copies of all recordings

Move all TV clips to long-term storage after 60 days

Here's how it works:

Triggers

Select a Trigger to kick off the task at-hand, based on: when a recording starts or finishes, when a clip is created, or by the number of days after the recording finishes. In the example to the right, we are going to kick off our workflow 30 days after the recording has finished.

Groups

Groups add a nice layer of permissions to your Workflows. Specfiy which User Groups are allowed to execute a particular Workflow. SnapStream's default groups are: Adminstrators, Basic Schedulers, Live TV Viewers, Pre-Recorded Viewers and Schedulers. But you can also set up custom work groups.

Filters

Filters narrow down the type of recording we're choosing to transcode later. In this case, we selected only recordings FROM CHANNEL CNN but excluding the SERIESAnderson Cooper 360. (Sorry, Anderson.) You can create multiple Workflows, as many as you'd like, to dictate how other types of recordings will be saved, formatted or copied.

Actions

Then, you apply the Actions. In this instance, we'll TRANSCODE two copies, one in H.264 and one in WMV, and save them to our NEWS folder. With folder permissions layered in, you can securely route recordings to specific users or groups. Move older recordings off to local or network-attached storage, or even online cloud storage using Amazon S3. Automatically share clips in the cloud. The possibilities are endless.

ShowSqueeze Live recordings

Start your transcodes right away with ShowSqueeze Live. Select the trigger recording started and the desired output format to initiate real-time transcoding right when a broadcast begins. You can view the recording and transcode in-progress. When the program ends, your ShowSqueeze will be done, too. As long as you have enough bandwidth on your SnapStream or on your ShowSqueeze Node, the conversion process will continue in sync with the broadcast.

Compress files to archive more TV

With a 3TB SnapStream SD recording TV content 24/7 at fair quality, you could keep over 152 days* worth of TV. To deepen the archive even further, ShowSqueeze all of your recordings from MPEG-2 to H.264 or WMV. At fair quality for H.264, you could extend the shelf life of your archive beyond 532 days.

Workflows in Action

Police Departments

Police departments are usually required to keep a media archive dating back at least three months, but any PIO would rather preserve content for as long as possible. Workflows can be configured to maintain a three-times-larger video stockpile, stored at lower resolutions.

iPads and iPhones

Transcode whichever recordings you'd like to H.264, which is the Apple-optimized streaming standard for mobile devices.

TV broadcasters

TV stations generally maintain airchecks for one year, for billing purposes and accuracy monitoring. Recorded 24/7, this video can take up immense disk space. With Workflows, TV stations can transcode files to reduce their size and triple the average recording's shelf life in SnapStream.

ShowSqueeze Node

Do you have a high volume of post-processing tasks, like ShowSqueeze, clipping and sharing TV? SnapStream's newly designed ShowSqueeze Node is a powerful add-on that can be clustered and dedicated to running high CPU tasks. And lots of them. On SnapStream 6.3 and above, the newest hardware can achieve up to 10 real-time transcodes simultaneously in SD and up to 8 in HD.

By taking advantage of SnapStream's clustering technology, you can transcode any number of shows, from any recording schedule, to any number of formats. As a fully integrated transcoder, ShowSqueeze also preserves the native search meta data—something a third-party solution cannot do.